Review of Private Instigator

[Peter Greaven]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Private Instigator" by Steve Vender.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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“Private Instigator” by Steve Vender brings audiences vicariously into the twisted, violent, conspiratorial world of private investigators involved in criminal defense. Obsession mixed with humorous and chaotic authenticity, the book describes the life of a man devoted to justice in a humorous manner.
 
The story of Steve Vender, written by himself, went from barely making ends meet as a bartender and writing a novel to being a thriving entrepreneur and a private investigator who takes criminal defense cases. His journey is defined by episodes of his internal conflict—substance dependence and his mother’s demise. In the book, he presents real accounts, including that of Jaime Gutierrez, a mechanic who was charged with murder after shooting dead a leader of a gang that attacked him. When investigating, Vender discovers different instances of corruption, such as gang members and informants shielded by the police, that obstruct the justice system.
 
First of all, the book shows a strong narrative by providing numerous narrations of historical events. The reader can really feel the concrete sexism of San Francisco streets coming through all the work that Vender has described. Readers can relate even to the colloquial, earthy styles of him making even the darkest tales relatable and engaging. Explaining his problems together with his work makes the reader empathize with him and sets up a narrative curve. The book also offers a good way to understand the problem of the justice system and its difficulties.
 
However, I found a slight flaw in this book, which was the lack of a concise table of contents that would’ve guided readers' experience with the book's chapters. There’s no other flaw in my opinion; the writing and editing were superb, as I found no errors while reading. For this reason, I’ll award this book with five out of five stars; the singular flaw isn’t sufficient enough for me to deduct a star.
 
"Private Instigator" is recommended to anyone interested in true crime or memoirs with elements of self-improvement during their career. This one is especially valuable for readers willing to plunge deep into the obscure facts of private investigation and criminal defense practice.

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Private Instigator
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[Yasmine Zaki Muhieddine]

The title piqued my interest; we are used to private investigator not instigator. It turns out, Steve Venders is an investigator. But he doesn't only solve mysteries, he instigates changes. He himself went through a lot of challenges with what happened to his mother, and with his own struggles, but fortunately he managed to become a thriving entrepreneur and a successful private investigator. I think I would love the book.